Not the Runt Anymore!

[Jawa]

#1. Cut the fenders I have 4.5" with 31's and had to cut the back side of the flares as they stick out too far and my tire hit them when it turned lock to lock left to right. 33's little more trimming probably.....

#2. When you went up with the Y style steering it will toe in naturally, get a big old MONKEY WRENCH/ aka pipe wrench and gets some torque on that puppy, probably just rusted............ or get someone else to do it as you have already planned

#3. Easy as pie, there is two ways you can do it or combine if necessary. 1st; Start from the caliper and not too tightly put the brake line to the shock and use a zip tie, making sure it will not bind when turning lock to lock.
2nd; go to a hardware store and get light springs like the ones on your parking brake cables in the back so they pull the brake line to the frame and will stretch out when flexing or turning. I have had to do both of these things cause of too much brake line.

#4. Rough ride? ....it is never going to end you are never done fine tuning your Jeep :sunshine: ....remember to go beat the crap out of it now and get those springs working and they might ride better. Also like in our previous post make sure your shackles are moving freely or it will be a rough ride.......



Did you ever figure out your leaning problem?

#1 - Trimming will happen for sure, but with how long it takes me to do things I just don't think I have time to get it done before I go to Silverton next weekend.

#2 - I tried a pipe wrench on it to no avail...

#3 - Great suggestions, thank you. I had wondered about using springs. Zip tying to the shock will probably do the trick, so I'll give that a shot first.

#4 - Got the drop brackets on order already. :laugh3: More important than the ride and rubbing is the fact that I've only got an inch or so before the arms hit the axle brackets. An inch of downward wheel travel doesn't cut it for me.

The lean appears to have mostly gone away after driving around a bit. There's still a very slight lean there, so I'm going to loosen up the shackle bolts tonight, drive it around a bit more, and see how it sits then. I'll see if that helps the rough ride too.

 

[YELLAHEEP]

I kinda figured you knew you would likely have to do some fender trimming with that lift and those tires.

As far as moving the axle forward, yeah, you can go an inch or so but any more than that and you may end up with some issues with binding your steering linkage against the front axle. It's pretty common for the back of the TRE on the tie rod to rub/contact the pass. side sway bar link bracket at full turn to the right. I've seen it where it just barely touches, and I've seen it where it binds so bad it'll actually hold the steering and you have to tug on the steering wheel to get it to move off of it.

That 4.5" of lift is definitely the "lunatic fringe" lift threshold. It'll make you nuts troubleshooting it and always ends up costing more money and time that you account for.

As an XJ brother...... I gotta be straight with ya....... Your next issue is likely gonna be death wobble. Hopefully you won't have it, but be prepared mentally to deal with it. Getting rid of DW has frustrated many XJ owners. Drop brackets and new steering linkage parts paired with the proper alignment (generally caster set to 7-8 degrees IIRC) solves the DW. If you've got the funds, seriously look into the JCR 1-Ton steering setup - lots of satisfied customers with that set up.

Also, if the alignment guys can't get your tie rod to turn due to rust and whatnot, holler - I have a nice rust free one with the clamps that will work.

 

[Jawa]

As an XJ brother...... I gotta be straight with ya....... Your next issue is likely gonna be death wobble. Hopefully you won't have it, but be prepared mentally to deal with it. Getting rid of DW has frustrated many XJ owners. Drop brackets and new steering linkage parts paired with the proper alignment (generally caster set to 7-8 degrees IIRC) solves the DW. If you've got the funds, seriously look into the JCR 1-Ton steering setup - lots of satisfied customers with that set up.

Oh yay, I can't wait! Unfortunately I don't have the funds for the JCR setup, nor the contacts or expertise to have it installed. I've looked at the Currie and Rugged Ridge setups as cheaper, easier to install alternatives. I've seen mixed reviews of those setups though. Hopefully I'll have some time on steering upgrades... I'm trying to take this one step at a time, but the Jeep ain't cooperating!

 

[jdogg4]

With your kit did you get a HD adjustable track bar and HD bracket? The stock one is weak compaired to afer market ones. I did that with mine and have yet to have any DW issues with my 4.5 kit.

My 4x4 alignment shop guy is nice. He charged me 50 buck and told me bring it back if I have any problems. Said a lot of times with new lifts he might see a guy 3 or 4 times tell it gets dialed in just right for the lift. I had to go in a few other times and every time he fixed it and never charged me for those ofther visits.

 

[Jawa]

I finally got the Jeep out on the highway - got it up to about 70 without any DW issues. I hit some serious bumps/holes/etc. on the way (I feel 'em really well now) and still no DW. So far so good...

What I did notice was a LOT of rattling coming from my front driver's side, like something really loose. I took a look and found that my shock bushing has just fallen apart. It looks like someone froze it in CO2 and hit it - it looks shattered or crumbled. Because of that the shock is loose on the bar pin and I'm sure the cause of my rattling. A quick inspection shows that my two rear shock bushings are going the same way. Only the passenger side front is left in tact. WTF? Those bushings have been driven for maybe 50 miles. What would cause the poly bushings to just crumble like that?

On top of that I sheared off a wheel lug when removing the wheel to install new shims, so now I've gotta replace that too... The "things to repair" list never ends, does it?

 

[YELLAHEEP]

What brand are the shocks? Did you get them with the lift kit? That certainly isn't right......

 

[Jawa]

Yup, they're whatever came with the kit. I believe they're RC Nitro 9000s.

 

[YELLAHEEP]

Well I'd take pics and send them to the lift manufacturer and ask for replacements.

 

[Jawa]

Oh they'll be hearing from me alright! Here are some pics:

Front driver's side shock

Rear driver's side

Rear passenger's side

 

[Jawa]

So... I loosened the shackle bolts as several people suggested and torqued them back down less than I had before (frame bolt at 55 lbs. instead of 65, leaf spring bolt at 35 lbs. instead of 65). I drove around last night and when I got back the lean is much worse! Check it out:

I'm starting to see why people bash RC... This is getting really, really frustrating. :flamemad:

 

[Stang5lgt]

Looks good other then the lean. Dutch had some of the same prob with his. Let me know when you wanna try and fix that trans mount.

 

[Skully]

So... I loosened the shackle bolts as several people suggested and torqued them back down less than I had before (frame bolt at 55 lbs. instead of 65, leaf spring bolt at 35 lbs. instead of 65). I drove around last night and when I got back the lean is much worse! Check it out:
I'm starting to see why people bash RC... This is getting really, really frustrating. :flamemad:

Did it ride any softer with making sure your shackles were moving around?

I never did a lift without the adjustable track bar, are you using the stock track bar? I am thinking of the dynamics of the suspension in the front and what happens when you lift it with the stock track bar, any body got thoughts on that one?

I noticed your lean follows along with the natural torque of the motor. (ie leaning towards the passenger side.) Wonder if one of the spring or coil is a little too soft and when you drive it the torque leans it to that side. I would see if rough country would warranty out the leaf spring? One way to find out is to switch the rear leafs or the front coil from left to right and see if the lean goes towards the drivers side? I know that would be a pain in the arse....... but as Sherlock Holmes would do is to eliminate the possiblities and what is left is the cause

 

[YELLAHEEP]

Yeah, wow - I'm becoming less and less of a RC lift fan myself...... and I don't even own a kit. That's just rediculous. Those bushings are drier than some I've taken off of XJ's with 100K miles on OEM shocks.

Be sure to send them all the pics you attached here so they see all the problems you're experiencing. I'd even send them the link to this thread so they can read all the things you've tried to correct the issue.

Hard to tell positively from the pic, but that shot of the rear seems to show that the pass. side leaf has less arc than the driver's. Can you take a pic that's down a bit more - maybe level with the axle? Did the kit specify a right/left leaf spring? It shouldn't matter - just curious.

 

[Jawa]

Did it ride any softer with making sure your shackles were moving around?

I never did a lift without the adjustable track bar, are you using the stock track bar? I am thinking of the dynamics of the suspension in the front and what happens when you lift it with the stock track bar, any body got thoughts on that one?

I noticed your lean follows along with the natural torque of the motor. (ie leaning towards the passenger side.) Wonder if one of the spring or coil is a little too soft and when you drive it the torque leans it to that side. I would see if rough country would warranty out the leaf spring? One way to find out is to switch the rear leafs or the front coil from left to right and see if the lean goes towards the drivers side? I know that would be a pain in the arse....... but as Sherlock Holmes would do is to eliminate the possiblities and what is left is the cause

Yup, the kit came with an adjustable trackbar. I had thought about swapping the springs from side to side just to see, but like you said it's a PITA...

Hard to tell positively from the pic, but that shot of the rear seems to show that the pass. side leaf has less arc than the driver's. Can you take a pic that's down a bit more - maybe level with the axle? Did the kit specify a right/left leaf spring? It shouldn't matter - just curious.

It didn't specify a left or right spring, no. I'm pretty sure the issue here is the spring because when I had the back on stands while I was shimming the rear, the front was nice and level. That tells me that the rear springs are what's pulling it down.

 

[YELLAHEEP]

I was just asking in case RC says there's a right/left and tells you that you put 'em on wrong. Wouldn't make any sense, but the Pro Comp rear leaf springs I have on the '96 have 2 sets of spray painted numbers on the top leaf. One set has the same number, the other set are different - which made me think it might be different part numbers...... :dunno:

 

[Hypoid]

Uh, don't front coils have a right and left? I know on stock coils there is always one just a little taller, it goes to the passenger side.

 

[Jawa]

I'm about to call my RC rep and will find out. There was nothing in the packaging, in the instructions, or on the springs themselves that indicated a specific side, but who knows... They did look the same size when sitting side by side, but I didn't take a tape measure to them to see for sure.

 

[jdogg4]

If you disconnect the track bar up front does it still sit the same.

 

[Jawa]

I haven't tried disconnecting the track bar yet. Interesting new development though - I drove the Jeep in to work today and by time I got in and parked, everything was nice and level. :huh: I'm going to give it a week or two, and a wheeling trip this weekend, and see how it sits.

Regarding the bushings, I spoke with my rep at RC and he informed me that their supplier sent them a whole bunch of bad bushings. They've pulled all the bad ones in their warehouse, but tons got out the door before they knew of the problem. I was just one of many unlucky recipients. They're overnighting replacement bushings to me today, so at least I don't have to drive around much longer with my shocks rattling and thunking around.

 

[Skully]

I haven't tried disconnecting the track bar yet. Interesting new development though - I drove the Jeep in to work today and by time I got in and parked, everything was nice and level. :huh: I'm going to give it a week or two, and a wheeling trip this weekend, and see how it sits.

......see, we told you to go beat the crap out of it and get that suspension moving

That suspension is all new and stiff, kinda like me in my young old age; cracking, creaking, and popping in the morning when I crawl out of bed. Once I get moving I start to sit level too................

When I first did my hybrid "3.5 lift it actually sat at "5 in the rear and "4 front. after a day of driving it dropped .5", then after the test run in the hills it dropped to 3.5" where it then got a boost of 1" in the front & 1.5" rear by adding an extra spacer and longer shackles.